How a Loan Shark Survives as an Actor Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

I only loosened my grip when the man was practically on the verge of crying.

The moment I released him, he collapsed limply onto the ground.

His entire body was soaked from the pouring rain.

“You crazy bastard… Hah… How… how could you do this… to me…”

He was trembling so badly that he could barely form complete sentences.

The pitiful sight left me speechless.

It was honestly the most pathetic thing I’d seen in a while.

‘Did Yoo Seulho have a stalker?’

A male stalker, no less.

Being a celebrity really wasn’t a job for just anyone.

As I briefly considered whether I should call the police, another thought crossed my mind.

I was actually quite satisfied.

I’d unintentionally tested Yoo Seulho’s grip strength, and I liked the result.

‘I wasn’t expecting much when I changed clothes earlier.’

Of course, it was difficult to compare him to my previous body.

Still, I was relieved that he didn’t seem completely weak and frail.

Just then…

“What’s going on? Are you okay?!”

Woo Junseo threw away the cigarette he’d only just lit and came rushing over.

His gaze shifted between the sobbing man and me.

The look in his eyes clearly said:

‘Got you now, you bastard.’

It looked as if he were ready to publish an article on the spot:

 

> [Exclusive] Actor Yoo Seulho Assaults Civilian in Broad Daylight… Thought His Acting Was Trash, Turns Out His Personality Is Too…

 

Fortunately… or unfortunately? the man sitting on the ground wasn’t just some random civilian.

“Oh! Actor Junseo!”

The man’s eyes widened when he spotted Woo Junseo, and he scrambled to his feet.

“Oh dear, sorry about that. I thought you’d already left. Um… I’m Seulho’s manager.”

“Ah, Sunbaenim’s manager… I see. Are you… okay?”

“Haha, of course. We play around like this all the time. We’re just that close. Sorry for startling you.”

The manager, who introduced himself as Hyun Jingae, laughed awkwardly.

It seemed he couldn’t bear to admit he’d been completely overpowered by another man.

Feeling a little sorry for him, I played along.

“My manager and I always mess around like this. Sorry for surprising you, Junseo.”

“Ah, right. I was a little surprised, but…”

“If you don’t mind, why don’t we continue our conversation another time? I need to wipe away my manager’s tears first.”

At my words, Woo Junseo awkwardly backed off.

The scene he’d just witnessed must have been so shocking that he’d forgotten to act like a jerk.

The manager seemed equally embarrassed.

Only after Woo Junseo’s car disappeared completely around the corner did he finally lift his head.

“You little bastard! You really had to humiliate me in front of other people?!”

I couldn’t believe the nerve of him.

I’d even helped him save face.

Why was he the one getting angry?

“Then why were you trying to hit me?”

“When did I hit you?! I was just doing what I always do. Hah, this is ridiculous. Hey, you’re hilarious!”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment! Argh!”

After fuming and turning several shades of red, the manager abruptly changed the subject.

“Did the meeting go well? Did you butter up the PD properly?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it?”

“He said he’ll send over a script soon.”

“Hah. I should’ve been there. Of all days, Director Shin had to schedule a golf outing. Why am I suffering like this because of you?”

Why was he blaming Yoo Seulho again?

The way he naturally shifted responsibility onto Yoo Seulho genuinely confused me.

‘Do managers normally treat celebrities like this?’

No.

Everything I’d witnessed before had been the exact opposite.

I’d seen countless celebrities treat their managers like floor rags, forcing them to clean up every mess they created.

‘Even a nobody celebrity wouldn’t get treated this badly.’

Yoo Seulho had plenty of haters, but there wasn’t a single person in Korea who didn’t know his name.

He wasn’t even a nobody from the beginning.

‘Hah.’

The fact that Woo Junseo had chosen Yoo Seulho as his next target already gave me a rough idea of Yoo Seulho’s personality.

But seeing the manager’s attitude only reinforced my suspicions.

“Manager, how long have we worked together?”

“Why are you suddenly acting formal? What’s with ‘Manager’? You’ve been calling me hyung this whole time.”

Without even looking at me, Hyun Jingae replied casually.

I smiled and said,

“I think we’ve gotten a little too comfortable with each other. Maybe we should start maintaining some boundaries.”

“What?”

“What kind of manager hits an actor who’s about to start filming a project? Don’t you agree? I wonder what the company would think about this situation.”

The manager stared at me as though I’d gone completely insane.

“Hey… did you seriously eat something weird?”

He looked utterly fearless.

There wasn’t even the slightest concern that I might fire him.

‘Hah.’

The situation was so absurd that I couldn’t even find words.

Forget it.

Enough wasting time.

“Take me to the company.”

“What?”

“I want to check some things. The contracts and various documents should be there, right?”

“Uh, they are, but… you’re the one asking to go to the company first?”

The manager looked at me as if he genuinely doubted whether I was really Yoo Seulho.

I couldn’t understand why a celebrity visiting his own agency was such a shocking idea.

Then I entered the building and immediately understood.

“Hey, you idiot!”

A harsh shout rang out.

At the same time, a large hand swung toward the back of Yoo Seulho’s head.

If I hadn’t caught it immediately, a very loud impact would have echoed through the hallway.

“AAAGH! It hurts! It hurts!”

The moment I squeezed, the man started begging me to let go.

After repeating variations of this incident several times before I even reached the office, I became completely certain.

Among these morons, Yoo Seulho had been treated worse than a dog.

 

***

 

[Yoo Seulho]

[Film Actor]

[Born: April 21, 20XX (Age 25)]

[Height/Weight: 180 cm, 73 kg]

[Agency: Star Actors]

[Debut: MBN Drama ‘Mom’s Angry’ (20XX)]

 

I searched “Yoo Seulho” on a portal site and carefully read every piece of information that appeared.

Then I saw the name of his agency.

A sigh escaped me.

‘Hah.’

Yoo Seulho.

Seulho.

‘Why the hell are you stuck in a place like this?’

I knew Star Actors very well.

The CEO was supposedly a former gangster.

The staff was notorious for throwing punches at anyone.

Not a single manager there had actually been hired through a proper interview process.

Whenever I talked to celebrity clients, it was always:

‘Oh, that trash agency?’

I’d heard about it countless times.

Since none of my clients belonged to Star Actors, I had never paid much attention.

But I never imagined someone as famous as Yoo Seulho would be signed there.

Even worse, when I checked the contract for Director Jang’s new drama, the amount Yoo Seulho was receiving was shockingly low.

It seemed unbelievable.

So I went further and examined Yoo Seulho’s agency contract.

That was even more ridiculous.

‘What the hell is this revenue split?’

I clicked my tongue while reading a contract packed with terms that heavily disadvantaged Yoo Seulho.

I’d always known that most small entertainment agencies existed mainly to exploit clueless young performers.

Even accounting for that, this crossed the line.

Which only raised another question.

‘And his parents just allowed this?’

Yoo Seulho wasn’t an orphan born on the streets like me.

He was the only son of two superstar celebrities with fame, influence, and connections beyond imagination.

His father, Yoo Taeho.

His mother, Lee Seulmyung.

Unlike the major agency both of them belonged to, their son had somehow been dumped into a place like this.

How did that make any sense?

‘I need to meet his parents.’

But the manager’s response exceeded even my imagination.

“What? Won’t they answer again? Planning to beg outside their house this time too?”

“Huh? Beg for what?”

“Last time you collapsed after spending three days outside their house apologizing nonstop. Didn’t you say that’s the only way they’ll even talk to you? Hey, if you’re going to do that again, make sure cameras don’t catch it. It’ll just create extra work for me.”

The sheer absurdity of what I was hearing made me sigh.

‘Yoo Seulho…’

Honestly, I didn’t know much about him.

I knew he’d spent years in the industry without making a single close friend.

I knew he’d enlisted in the military relatively early for a celebrity, hoping to improve his image, yet public opinion hadn’t changed.

But I’d never once heard that his parents were psychopaths.

“Hyung, how exactly did things end between Director Jang and me last time? I can’t remember.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How do you forget something like that?”

I also learned what had happened between Yoo Seulho and Director Jang.

Apparently, filming had been delayed because Yoo Seulho’s acting was so terrible.

And during all of it, he had simply stood there stiffly without even apologizing.

People had called him arrogant and rude for causing trouble and refusing to say sorry.

“If I were Director Jang, I’d have beaten the crap out of you already. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?”

I ignored the manager’s rambling and thought quietly.

‘Hmm.’

If Yoo Seulho were really that arrogant, would his manager act like this?

‘There’s definitely something hidden here.’

I couldn’t know everything yet.

Still, I could roughly picture the kind of life Yoo Seulho had endured before taking his own life.

To be honest, I didn’t really understand it.

Not that I intended to judge him for it.

‘People are born with different personalities.’

Just like I was naturally vicious, maybe Yoo Seulho had simply been the kind of person who bottled everything up.

This body could earn money on a scale I never could as a loan shark.

The more I learned, the more I felt I should at least treat Yoo Seulho well.

The guy was already dead.

If I insulted him too, it’d just be cruel.

“Wait… what’s wrong with your neck?”

The manager’s voice suddenly filled with shock.

I realized the mark I’d carefully hidden that morning had become visible.

Since no one else was around, I answered casually.

“What’s with that reaction? You’re the one who did it.”

“…What?”

“You don’t remember choking me last time? It’s from then.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! When did I ever do that?!”

“You seriously don’t remember? It was just recently. Wow. How do you forget something like that?”

The manager looked utterly confused as I shamelessly repeated the lie.

The key to lying was confidence.

“No, seriously? Did I…? No, there’s no way. Hey! What the hell is wrong with you today?!”

Ignoring his hysterics, I headed back to the hotel.

When I asked why I was staying in a hotel, he exploded again.

‘Because you got kicked out of your family home, so I booked one for you!’

I ignored that too and entered my room.

‘Let’s organize the situation.’

After checking the date, I realized it was the exact same day as the accident that had happened to my original body.

I guessed that the time Yoo Seulho committed suicide and the time I got into that car accident were nearly identical.

‘If I visited a hospital or funeral home near the crash site, I’d probably find traces of my original self.’

Of course, I had absolutely no intention of doing that.

What was I supposed to tell my old guys?

‘Hey, I’m your boss.’

I’d be lucky if they didn’t stab me.

Whether my original body was dead or in a coma didn’t matter.

The most important thing right now was improving Yoo Seulho’s situation.

‘Let’s do it.’

Those strange parents.

That garbage agency.

Everything useless had to go.

And to do that, the first thing I needed was…

 

***

 

One week later, Director Jang sent me an unfinished script.

The moment I finished reading it, I went looking for my manager and beat the hell out of him.

“Why are you doing this?!”

The manager shouted tearfully.

I looked hurt and replied,

“I’m practicing acting. Can’t you help me with that much?”

“What?”

“I’m bad at acting, remember? I figured if I practice acting in real life, I’ll be able to act better in front of the camera too. You understand how I feel, right, hyung?”

I looked at him with moist, sincere eyes.

The manager stared blankly before muttering:

“…You psycho.”

I smiled brightly.

Good.

If that’s how I looked, then things were going perfectly.

Because the role I’d been given was a psycho.